The Black Iron Glory
Preparatory work

Chapter 68

Preparatory work

They still have two days to prepare for the trip.

"We only have one day of rest, so we won't stay overnight. We don't have to buy" Borkal started.

"Can't we go Saturday night?" Eriksson interjected, "The boat is two meters shorter than the others, but there is still enough room for the four of us. If it doesn't rain, we can even have a barbecue."

"What a great idea!" Welikro agreed.

Borkal thought it was a good thing too. They would not be in danger as long as the ship itself was fine. Summer is here. The days are getting warmer and the number of fishermen spending the night in the water is also growing. Some of the wealthier townspeople even rented boats for a night or two.

Claude was not too enthusiastic about the idea. He wanted to meditate, not waste time fishing. A day or two missed was no big deal, but he did not want to start a habit.

He already understood the value of consistent hard work late in his previous life, he did not want to waste the chance he was given this time. He was caught two weeks before the final exam, but it was too late. He didn't have enough time to make up and didn't qualify for Peking University or Tsinghua. His homeroom teacher always said he had intelligence but no work ethic. If only he had worked hard. . .

There was no point crying over spilled milk, and he had a second chance, so he shook himself.

His attention returned to the outside world just as Eriksson declared they were leaving Saturday night.

"Huh? When do I agree?" He asked .

"You don't mind, so you agree," Eriksson said secretly, "Not that your disagreement will change the plan, the three of us have already agreed."

Claude smiled bitterly, but did not urge him.

Borkal and Eriksson arrive at a shopping list business and soon they all go shopping. Claude was dragged along, but he didn't say much in the matter. He decided to enjoy it and pay for it all. Including meals for four.

The fourth once again wanted to go to the old tavern, which was a bit of a problem since he would definitely meet his father. He didn't think his father would make a fuss in the tavern, especially not because they had just started recovering from newspaper articles, but he wouldn't be spared once they were both alone at home. He might even take Claude's money to prevent him from blowing it all up'.

Borkal's father had promised not to tell anyone, but if he spent a lot of time eating, his father would sniff his nose, and Borkal's father, promised or did not promise, will spill the beans as soon as Claude's dad starts asking.

His father would not let the dead dogs lie once he knew what kind of money Claude had, it was a question of whether he would do so if the amount of money Claude had earned from hunting trips, he said, but he would definitely not stay idle when the amount in question was worth more than a year of his salary.

It's not that Claude knows what to do with his money. He panics when he realizes that he has no money left, but now that he has it, he realizes he has no idea what to do with it.

His friends were not troubled, however, he could always spend it on food that was good for them, they would naturally not complain. He offered to let them choose whatever they wanted, but while they knew exactly what they wanted when it came to fishing and hunting equipment, they were lost when it came to food.

It does not help that the most expensive item is seafood, which most of them can get from fishing, which they will do.

Ground-loving animal meat is an option, but not uncommon in their homes. They are capable enough that, although not an everyday thing, they eat meat at least once a week, perhaps more like twice. So they only got a few pieces of mutton and beef. Eriksson bought three heavy chicken wings; he was already dead from having more of Claude's roasted wings. But it's not expensive. Poor knowledge of spices in the country makes the unpalatable meat in itself mostly fed to pets, so the wings are cheap.

They make sure to get good fruit and bread as well. Fruit is a big part of city farming, so it's not expensive either. They have not bought fruit and bread. Things like that get rotten or stale quickly, so they order them for Saturday afternoon.

Despite buying a rather luxurious volume, it did not add up much. Overall, the food for their trip only cost Claude. Borkal, shy – which is a surprise – insist on getting four bottles of blueberry wine. Welikro wanted to get a barrel of blackweat beer instead.

Maybe it wasn't very sounding to Claude, but even his father's salary was only three thales a month, so it was really a very wasteful purchase.

However, what was done had been done, and all four of them were headed to the pier. Borkal and Eriksson also get charcoal, fishing ropes, lanterns, and oil. For that, they dropped out of school after lunch one afternoon and went to Wakri's shop.

Borkal nodded as well. It's time to increase their reach. Claude had no doubt they would eventually have to go back to short-range gunpowder once their money ran out, and it wouldn't be easy. Being poor is easy, being rich is not.

That doesn't mean he'll continue to use cheaper stuff just so he can stretch his money. There was no point in choosing inferior materials when he could afford to buy better.

That doesn't mean he'll continue to use cheaper stuff just so he can stretch his money. There was no point in choosing inferior materials when he could afford to buy better.

"Wait, Claude, shouldn't we buy some long-distance pellets? We don't have to worry about hitting anyone on the lake, so why not give it a try?" Borkal asked.

Claude wanted to test it as well, so that was all the advice he needed to convince him to go all out.

"Good . "

Welikro cried silently beside them. His old gun couldn't handle anything stronger than short-range powder, so he couldn't shoot any further.

Eriksson did not care about the lubrication of the soil and their weapons. They are useless at sea. The only gunpowder weapon useful on water is the cannon, and only in bulk. They might, just might, be worth something in a calm lake, but they were completely useless in the slightest wave.

He only cared about his short barrel last time because they only had Welikro guns back then. Now that the other two had rifles, there was no reason to carry them. He also did not hunt with it, so it would be useless even for that. It was meant solely for self-defense, and the lake did not have such a bad danger that they each only needed to carry rifles.

Claude again passed on the shelf, but no one reacted to him. He did it a few times, but gave up when he came empty for the third time.

"I thought you'd buy a toy for your little brother and sister again" asked Welikro.

"They don't really need anything now they have Pluto. I'll get them something if something stands out, but these are all common things, and pretty old too."

Wakri heard it and looked up.

"They don't really need anything now they have Pluto. I'll get them something if something stands out, but these are all common things, and pretty old too."

Wakri heard it and looked up.

"I don't order those things anymore. After the things were gone, they left. I heard there's one more store, the Hurian in the slums, that still has some stuff, but that's it. I was actually thinking of selling her things. They just take up space here, no one sees them anymore. "

Claude doesn't know this Hurian, but it looks like Eriksson and Borkal do.

"Hurian's back?" Eriksson asked, pleased.

"He didn't leave in the end?" Borkal also clang.

Wakri.

"Who's Hurian?" Claude asked.

"A traveling salesman. He usually travels everywhere, but it looks like he decided to set up a permanent store" Borkal explained.

"He's a good parent" Eriksson added, "He likes kids and likes to drink. He often told a street kid who docked his wild stories after a night of drinking. He's got some, but I guess that's for sure.expected when you travel as much as he does. The malt candy is also big. "

"He said he was going to go to the royal capital a few years ago, I don't think he would have come back," Borkal added.